Latest / Connor with Honor: AI, Real Estate and Real Life / Buying a Home in Santa Clarita: Dual Agency, Contingencies & What Your Agent Owes You
Transcript
- 0:00SPEAKER_00: It's been quite a while since I've represented a real estate buyer.
- 0:03SPEAKER_00: A few years, in fact, just for the simple fact that I went all in on the seller's only agent side.
- 0:09SPEAKER_00: But that doesn't mean for those 21 years I spent representing buyers and sellers combined that it wasn't worth it.
- 0:16SPEAKER_00: And the reason why I bring this up is because buyers have a lot of questions.
- 0:20SPEAKER_00: So with no skin in the game any longer, I think now is about the right time.
- 0:24SPEAKER_00: I kind of give you how everything is.
- 0:26SPEAKER_00: And maybe from this education you'll be able to find the best agent to represent you as a home buyer.
- 0:32SPEAKER_00: Now a lot of buyers are under the presumption, and I was for a very long time.
- 0:36SPEAKER_00: I got into real estate in 1998.
- 0:38SPEAKER_00: But you know, dad kind of implanted that seed.
- 0:41SPEAKER_00: You never want to use a broker, want to go directly to the source.
- 0:43SPEAKER_00: It's more expensive.
- 0:44SPEAKER_00: Well, times have changed.
- 0:45SPEAKER_00: That's not the case in most cases.
- 0:47SPEAKER_00: Brokers have a lot more width.
- 0:49SPEAKER_00: And if you're going to buy a house, dad would always say, well, you need to go to the listing agent because they're going to be better at negotiating with that seller because they already have a relationship.
- 0:57SPEAKER_00: And you're sure back in the day, maybe that made sense.
- 1:00SPEAKER_00: Getting into real estate in 1998, things have changed.
- 1:02SPEAKER_00: Back then, fax machines were looked at not being witchcraft, but you know, that's that's a little bit of a stretch.
- 1:08SPEAKER_00: But they really weren't trusted.
- 1:09SPEAKER_00: Agents would rather go directly to the listing agent if they were representing a buyer, and they would go directly to that listing agent, and then they would have a conversation about the buyer.
- 1:19SPEAKER_00: Here's the contract, here's the offer, here's the lender, here's all the information.
- 1:23SPEAKER_00: And a lot of times in escrow, we would actually meet with everybody in a single room.
- 1:28SPEAKER_00: It happened more often than not.
- 1:30SPEAKER_00: And when fax machines kind of came to be and they were around 1998 or so, they were starting to be become of age, become used way prior to email, that they were really not trusted.
- 1:41SPEAKER_00: It was the hand delivery mechanism that made the difference back then.
- 1:45SPEAKER_00: Then, of course, fax machines were very trusted, nobody really met in person, and then it was a slow progression to email to to basically today, if you really want to impress somebody, you actually show up in person and present an offer.
- 1:57SPEAKER_00: And uh besides it being weird if they're kind of the same generation, been around for you know almost 30 years in real estate, then maybe they understand it because they were there back in the day.
- 2:07SPEAKER_00: Newer agents, yeah, they they're nervous, it makes them a little scared, but that's the way that works.
- 2:13SPEAKER_00: Buyers representing, representing or looking for representation, you know, going to the seller's agent.
- 2:18SPEAKER_00: Usually there's there's of course dual agency is allowed in California.
- 2:22SPEAKER_00: There's a few states it's illegal to have the same agent representing the seller that represents the buyer.
- 2:28SPEAKER_00: I believe Canada also practices a non-dual agency, so you have to have your own representative.
- 2:33SPEAKER_00: And that's not a bad place to be, as far as I'm concerned, uh, not just because I'm a seller's only agent, but when you're it was very difficult and it gets kind of complicated if you can imagine this.
- 2:45SPEAKER_00: So you're the real estate seller and you have an agent.
- 2:48SPEAKER_00: And every time that I did represent the other side, I would always, of course, go to my seller first and ask them if they wouldn't mind.
- 2:55SPEAKER_00: So we could have a conversation about it because things happen.
- 2:58SPEAKER_00: And real estate is about preparation.
- 3:00SPEAKER_00: You, as a real estate buyer going into real estate, should understand that.
- 3:05SPEAKER_00: Having those stories and those accolades and that knowledge and experience to be able to be conveyed to you, as I do my real estate sellers, and as I do even today, talking about real estate buyers preparing you for the task at hand.
- 3:19SPEAKER_00: Lots of things can happen.
- 3:21SPEAKER_00: So I would go to my seller and I would say, listen, this buyer contacted me directly.
- 3:25SPEAKER_00: They would like to utilize my services.
- 3:27SPEAKER_00: This is what I would charge you to represent them, and then we would make that part of the contract.
- 3:31SPEAKER_00: But I would also bring up, you know, the buyer's probably going to have a repair request, probably going to want certain things of your residence to be to be injected or changed or modified or fixed as a result of their home inspection.
- 3:44SPEAKER_00: They might want to come in and ask for a discount later on in escrow.
- 3:48SPEAKER_00: And then then they the sellers would light up.
- 3:51SPEAKER_00: Well, you're representing me.
- 3:53SPEAKER_00: Well, if you allow this to happen, I'll be representing them.
- 3:56SPEAKER_00: And I owe both of you a fiduciary responsibility of doing everything ethical, moral, legal, and and accepting all of the things that are are at it as is.
- 4:07SPEAKER_00: And in K, and also, in fact, because you have told me things about your residence, whatever you told me is also available to disclosure to the buyer.
- 4:16SPEAKER_00: So 100%.
- 4:16SPEAKER_00: And that that equates and that pencils out in all respects.
- 4:20SPEAKER_00: What your agent knows as a real estate seller, if you tell them something that you think is going to stay between you and them, legally, it can't.
- 4:28SPEAKER_00: So before you offer up things, just understand the precedence.
- 4:32SPEAKER_00: You know, I don't know if some agents would hide the facts that the sellers disclose them to them particular things that need to be disclosed.
- 4:39SPEAKER_00: But if they do, shame on them and shame on the seller for expecting it.
- 4:43SPEAKER_00: But now you've been brought up to speed.
- 4:45SPEAKER_00: But the real estate buyer, they're going to have particular concerns.
- 4:48SPEAKER_00: So if I come back later and they want a$50,000 credit, or if they want you to replace the roof and the plumbing as a result of the home inspections, well, you know, understand, you know, don't beat up the messenger, but this is going to be coming from them, and I need to stand on their side in that regard.
- 5:07SPEAKER_00: Well, what if we don't want to pay it?
- 5:09SPEAKER_00: Well, now I'm back to your side.
- 5:10SPEAKER_00: So then I go back to the buyer and say, Well, they're not going to pay it, or they're going to pay this, or they're going to do this, or they're not going to do anything.
- 5:15SPEAKER_00: And then I go back to the buyer.
- 5:17SPEAKER_00: Ultimately, it's a very unusual spot, but I'm just wanted to let you know ahead of time that that way that that plays out is going to be very dependent on number one, trust.
- 5:27SPEAKER_00: I mean, how much do you really trust me to do the right thing?
- 5:30SPEAKER_00: Well, we trust you explicitly, Connor.
- 5:32SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you very much for that.
- 5:33SPEAKER_00: But when we get into it, the remembrance of this little conversation, it's it's going to be very quiet.
- 5:40SPEAKER_00: There's not going to be a lot of serving memory, you know, bubbling it up to the surface so you remember lock, stock, and barrel, everything we discussed in this regard.
- 5:50SPEAKER_00: And then if the buyer wants other things, maybe the buyer decides to cancel escrow.
- 5:54SPEAKER_00: Maybe the buyer decides to cancel escrow right before the removal of contingencies is due.
- 6:00SPEAKER_00: Or maybe they drag on the removal of contingencies with me as their representative, and they say that uh something of that we can't uh we can't attend to it right now.
- 6:11SPEAKER_00: Um somebody got sick or a family member isn't feeling well.
- 6:15SPEAKER_00: Well, and of course that might be it might be true, or it could be that they're trying to delay.
- 6:20SPEAKER_00: Maybe they're asking family members, hey, well, God, we really don't want to buy this house anymore.
- 6:24SPEAKER_00: We want to get out of escrow, but we feel bad for our agent, we feel bad for the seller, and then maybe somebody in the family says, Well, have you removed your contingencies?
- 6:32SPEAKER_00: No, they've been asking for it because it's due.
- 6:34SPEAKER_00: It was due a couple days ago, and then that's up to me if I'm representing them to enforce that.
- 6:40SPEAKER_00: And then how hard do we enforce it?
- 6:42SPEAKER_00: Do we give them a removal of contingencies right away, which is really an enforcement mechanism to say, listen, if you're either going to sign this thing because contractually you have to, and you got three days to do it.
- 6:53SPEAKER_00: If you don't perform it in three days, then we're gonna boot you out of escrow and go to somebody else or put the house back on the market, refunding your deposit because we're not entitled to keep it at that point.
- 7:04SPEAKER_00: Or, or the seller stands up and says, Well, I understand that per documents and paperwork, we're not entitled to keep it, but we believe we've been harmed by the buyer.
- 7:13SPEAKER_00: So we're gonna go ahead and get to get an attorney, we're not gonna give them back their deposit.
- 7:16SPEAKER_00: Or the buyer did remove their contingencies, but then the buyer decides to cancel through the same agent, and then the buyer says, I want my deposit back, and the seller says, No.
- 7:27SPEAKER_00: And then we have the legality, the lawsuit, so then the buyer now has to attorney up.
- 7:33SPEAKER_00: And it's so there's a lot of that process, and that's a conversation that as a real estate buyer you should be having with your agent about those types of things.
- 7:44SPEAKER_00: And of course, all those won't pertain to you because you're you're buying.
- 7:48SPEAKER_00: But on the seller side, if the agent is going to be representing the buyer at the seller's whim, if the seller doesn't mind, then these conversations have to take place because it starts to get really sweaty and uncomfortable in that whole process because you hired me to do a job for you, and I brought you the buyer, and some agents probably lack the ability to ask for permission.
- 8:11SPEAKER_00: I come from law enforcement.
- 8:13SPEAKER_00: Permission is all really about, except for the placing the finger on the trigger and needing to take care of business at the worst possible situation as that that exists when it comes to human lives and stuff, protecting other people's lives and your your own life.
- 8:27SPEAKER_00: That that permission thing, there's no time to ask.
- 8:30SPEAKER_00: But in real estate, there's there's time to ask.
- 8:32SPEAKER_00: There's time to ask for permission.
- 8:34SPEAKER_00: Maybe some agents do it, maybe some agents don't, but it was always my practice.
- 8:39SPEAKER_00: But now that's that's an aside.
- 8:41SPEAKER_00: Now it's sellers-only agents, so that works, that works out good for me.
- 8:44SPEAKER_00: And it also works out good for sellers because they know there's no part of that process.
- 8:48SPEAKER_00: I'm playing with the buyer.
- 8:49SPEAKER_00: The buyer is always represented by another agent.
- 8:51SPEAKER_00: And whether the seller chooses to pay that other agent for their work or their their buyer pays their own agent, then that's that's totally part of the negotiation process.
- 9:00SPEAKER_00: My fee has been set, we've already discussed it, the sellers are paying it, and that's how that works.
- 9:05SPEAKER_00: And I play all the way through, all the way through the 18th hole and 19th hole, if that even exists.
- 9:10SPEAKER_00: But as a real estate buyer, going in with that agent, understanding how that process works, understanding your contingency time frames, understanding when you have to have certain things done, being brought up to speed, having the very beginning of the process adhered to where you have full information, knowing, okay, this date, this has to happen, this date, this has to happen, this is when we're gonna do these inspections, this is when the appraisal should be done by, this is when you're gonna know if the house is valued at what you were willing to pay when the appraiser report gets completed, all of these things.
- 9:42SPEAKER_00: Plus, on the buyer end of it, there's all sorts of crap that you have to get done with the lender.
- 9:46SPEAKER_00: Lender's gonna be requesting this document, that document, and most of the time you'll have all that prepared ahead of time.
- 9:52SPEAKER_00: It also depends on how complete the work done by the lender was.
- 9:56SPEAKER_00: The lender might be um establishing where they given they've given you something called a full underwriter approval.
- 10:03SPEAKER_00: That's that's that's pretty powerful approval.
- 10:04SPEAKER_00: That means they just didn't talk to you over the phone and and find out what you make and hey, have you been late on any payments?
- 10:10SPEAKER_00: Okay, you're good to go.
- 10:11SPEAKER_00: They actually delved into your your uh FICO score and looked at all your credit worthiness and then were able to run you through their automated system and sometimes maybe a non-automated system to get you the actual approval.
- 10:24SPEAKER_00: That's like the best place for a buyer to be.
- 10:27SPEAKER_00: In fact, in today's day and time, I would recommend all buyers go through that full pre-approval process and potentially get a full underwriter approval.
- 10:36SPEAKER_00: Because if you're competing with other buyers on a real estate listing and the other buyers have because a good seller's agent, like I try to be, is I try to make, I always make phone calls to the buyer's lender, whether I know him or not.
- 10:51SPEAKER_00: Say, hey, this is Connor McIver.
- 10:53SPEAKER_00: I I uh I received an offer from on behalf of, and then I give the buyer's names, then I wait.
- 10:59SPEAKER_00: I I don't say anything else because I wanted to see if the lender really knows them and if the lender's done their due diligence.
- 11:04SPEAKER_00: If the lender has a relationship where they've already vetted them in some way, shape, or form, run their credit, have the conversations, yeah, they're gonna say, oh, Betty and Johnny, oh, great people, great people.
- 11:14SPEAKER_00: We talked and they were just wonderful, and so on and so forth.
- 11:17SPEAKER_00: So if that's the response I get, I'm happy.
- 11:19SPEAKER_00: But if they say, they say, Betty, Betty and Johnny, who is this again?
- 11:23SPEAKER_00: Well, it's Connor McIntyre, and who are you on?
- 11:25SPEAKER_00: I'm with Sync Brokerage.
- 11:27SPEAKER_00: Uh they wrote an offer on a listing today, and and well, who's their agent?
- 11:30SPEAKER_00: Well, their agent's Norman Rodriguez.
- 11:32SPEAKER_00: Norman Rodriguez, and and they, and yeah, that's a problem.
- 11:36SPEAKER_00: Now, of course, they might track down the file, they might have already done all this due diligence, just maybe they're so incredibly busy doing like a thousand deals a week that they've completely forgotten these people.
- 11:47SPEAKER_00: Or more likely is they probably just did some telephonic interview, fired off an approval letter to the agent hoping that they would get the deal and moved on to the properties that they actually have in escrow.
- 11:59SPEAKER_00: Maybe.
- 12:00SPEAKER_00: But these are all things you need to be aware of as you're approaching real estate from this side.
- 12:04SPEAKER_00: And on the seller's end of it, the sellers are very thankful that I'm calling up and finding out this information.
- 12:09SPEAKER_00: I bring it right back to the lender.
- 12:11SPEAKER_00: So if we have multiple offers on a piece of real estate, then I bring back to the lender.
- 12:15SPEAKER_00: I say, well, this one, they they knew the buyers pretty well.
- 12:18SPEAKER_00: This one, not so much.
- 12:20SPEAKER_00: This one, they had no idea what the hell I was talking about.
- 12:22SPEAKER_00: And this one, they're back on the East Coast, so I can only talk to them tomorrow or Monday morning at 9 a.m.
- 12:28SPEAKER_00: because they're not going to answer their phone until that time.
- 12:30SPEAKER_00: And that's the case in some cases with certain financial institutions that are loaning money on residential real estate during origination.
- 12:38SPEAKER_00: Sometimes they're locked down to a particular hour of operation.
- 12:42SPEAKER_00: So their particular lending officers, unlike mortgage brokers, and I know I open with that little skit, mortgage brokers uh that are available basically whenever their phone rings, they're picking up, which is a great thing to have.
- 12:54SPEAKER_00: Because then if you're you're writing an offer six o'clock on a Saturday night and it might be$10,000 over your approved amount, and you know your lender mentioned there's a little bit of wiggle room there, you're able to make the phone call and find out is there$10,000 worth of wiggle room?
- 13:08SPEAKER_00: And now that there's instead of a$100 HOA, a$220 HOA, is that gonna fit?
- 13:13SPEAKER_00: And maybe there wasn't Melaruz, maybe there was Melarus at a at a small percentage or even a big percentage.
- 13:19SPEAKER_00: You can get those questions answered because the clock might be ticking if the seller's gonna get multiple offers and you have everything else done, but you can't talk to your lender, oof, what a nightmare that is because somebody else has already had all that cinched up.
- 13:34SPEAKER_00: They're using a lender that's available to be available by phone at you know 6 p.m.
- 13:39SPEAKER_00: on a Saturday night.
- 13:40SPEAKER_00: And I'm not saying in a perfect world it doesn't work out that way.
- 13:44SPEAKER_00: Sometimes things happen, right?
- 13:45SPEAKER_00: People get sick, people, whatever, but if they are available, get those questions answers, those offers are gonna be entertained more closely to being real because now you're able to write that offer as a real estate buyer through your agent, feeling confident that those numbers are gonna make sense instead of writing the offer, waiting till Monday morning or Monday afternoon until you get back with your lender.
- 14:06SPEAKER_00: Your lender's saying, oof, well, it's kind of a push.
- 14:09SPEAKER_00: I think we can make it work, but, and then the but comes in, maybe a higher interest rate, maybe something that you didn't expect, or a total denial.
- 14:17SPEAKER_00: Now all of a sudden you had the mental curtains.
- 14:19SPEAKER_00: Sunday you were dancing in the streets in the rain with your loved ones, and you were so happy that you were gonna be buying your first house, and then Monday morning your earth, your world is shattered with a hammer and a and a glass jar.
- 14:30SPEAKER_00: So that's that's where that ends up.
- 14:32SPEAKER_00: Having an available lender is important.
- 14:35SPEAKER_00: Now, do you use the lender that your agent recommends?
- 14:37SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
- 14:38SPEAKER_00: Um, you'll have to talk to them, see see what they're like.
- 14:42SPEAKER_00: There's nothing that should be happening between the lender and said agent.
- 14:46SPEAKER_00: There should be no payback, no, no football game tickets, no, no free rides to Vegas, none of that.
- 14:52SPEAKER_00: It should be legit, it should be just upfront and honest, and it should be because the lender does a good job.
- 14:58SPEAKER_00: That's the biggest thing for a real estate agent.
- 15:00SPEAKER_00: I know when I'm talking to lenders on the other end of it when I'm discussing with their buyers, I can tell first couple minutes, and not even the cop in me, it's the being a realtor for a very long time in me.
- 15:11SPEAKER_00: I can tell in the first few minutes, you know, if the lender's gonna be good and diligent, do their job, or if it's gonna be something where now I got to chase them down for everything.
- 15:19SPEAKER_00: Part of the thing that the lender does too is they give the buyer proper notification as to whether or not the buyer can remove contingencies, because usually the loan contingency is a little bit longer than the inspection contingency.
- 15:30SPEAKER_00: So the loan contingency for the real estate buyer usually tracks longer into the transaction, and that's kind of like the last thing to fall.
- 15:39SPEAKER_00: That's the last obstacle that comes up in a real estate transaction in a lot of cases.
- 15:44SPEAKER_00: So that removal of contingencies falls later on and needs to be done, and sometimes that's delayed because the lender is working 15 other cases, which is fine, good for them being busy, but then they should have the staff in place to be able to make these decisions.
- 16:00SPEAKER_00: And then finally, the buyer, you're gonna want to know, hey, hey, Jack, I'm gonna remove these contingencies because they're due, and the other side's pressing, and maybe the other side, the seller's agent rep sent me a notice to perform.
- 16:12SPEAKER_00: And if I don't do this in 72 hours, they're gonna kick me out of escrow because they had multiple offers and they have other people ready to buy this house.
- 16:20SPEAKER_00: So, you know, is this good to go?
- 16:22SPEAKER_00: Am I good to remove these contingencies?
- 16:24SPEAKER_00: And then they tell you over the phone, oh yeah, no problem, it's all gonna work out.
- 16:28SPEAKER_00: You're good to go.
- 16:29SPEAKER_00: We got we got everything we need.
- 16:31SPEAKER_00: Uh still follow that up with an email.
- 16:34SPEAKER_00: Follow everything up with an email.
- 16:35SPEAKER_00: If you're hiring me as your agent being representing the seller, uh follow up.
- 16:40SPEAKER_00: If I'm telling you something, if I'm telling you anything, follow it up.
- 16:43SPEAKER_00: Just have a good practice, following up everything.
- 16:46SPEAKER_00: Hey, Connor, you said today that uh the you know the house was gonna come with some magic unicorns and uh cotton candy drapes.
- 16:52SPEAKER_00: Is that gonna, is that gonna still think?
- 16:54SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, then then I say, oh, sure, sure, no problem.
- 16:57SPEAKER_00: You're gonna get all that stuff.
- 16:58SPEAKER_00: Then follow that up with an email.
- 16:59SPEAKER_00: You know, just wanted to check in about the cotton corn dreams and the candy curtain drapes or whatever it was I just said, and just wanted to make sure that's true.
- 17:07SPEAKER_00: And then then they'll come to Jesus, right?
- 17:09SPEAKER_00: Then they'll either say, Yeah, you know, it's really not, it's not unicorns and not really candy, cotton candy, it's kind of Pegasus and more, you know, hot dogs.
- 17:18SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, you make that adjustment.
- 17:20SPEAKER_00: Same thing with you buyers out there.
- 17:22SPEAKER_00: If your lender is telling you, hey, yeah, you're good to go, remove those contingencies, good, well, that's a problem, right?
- 17:29SPEAKER_00: If he can't get the loan, what happens?
- 17:30SPEAKER_00: Of course, there's lawsuits and stuff that happens after that if they have to actually did mess up, but it's nice to have it in writing.
- 17:38SPEAKER_00: Yes.
- 17:38SPEAKER_00: Yes.
- 17:39SPEAKER_00: I talked to you today, Stan, and you said it's okay to remove contingencies.
- 17:42SPEAKER_00: So you fire off that email, and then Stan comes back.
- 17:45SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes, Connor.
- 17:46SPEAKER_00: For the 52nd time, it's okay to remove contingencies.
- 17:49SPEAKER_00: Go ahead, you're good.
- 17:51SPEAKER_00: And then you're good.
- 17:52SPEAKER_00: So you remove contingencies, something happened, at least you got that email.
- 17:55SPEAKER_00: Not that anything's gonna happen with it, but that's a pretty powerful thing to have.
- 17:58SPEAKER_00: And then maybe because you were misinformed, maybe the seller will have a heart, and you know, hearts do exist out there in real estate, crazy enough.
- 18:05SPEAKER_00: So we see that happening.
- 18:07SPEAKER_00: When you are purchasing real estate, really, really vet that person if you want more information about this.
- 18:12SPEAKER_00: I do referrals.
- 18:13SPEAKER_00: I have agents that are part of my network that represent buyers only.
- 18:17SPEAKER_00: More than happy to refer you.
- 18:19SPEAKER_00: They pay my fee, they pay that referral fee, and of course the seller or you pay them, whatever that negotiation is, more than happy to do it.
- 18:26SPEAKER_00: That's full transparency and disclosure.
- 18:28SPEAKER_00: If it's a listing I'm carrying, where I directly represent the seller, I will not.
- 18:33SPEAKER_00: I will not even refer you to another agent that can handle that.
- 18:37SPEAKER_00: You go find your own because that's what I promise.
- 18:40SPEAKER_00: My sellers is a seller's only agent.
- 18:42SPEAKER_00: That said, I hope you're well.
- 18:43SPEAKER_00: I hope there's some clearness.
- 18:45SPEAKER_00: This this unmurkied the water a little bit, and I will, of course, see you in the next one.
- 18:50SPEAKER_00: Thanks for watching me.
- 18:51SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm Connor with honor, Santa Clarito Openhouses.com.
- 18:55SPEAKER_00: That's that resource, and uh check it out.
- 18:57SPEAKER_00: We'll see you in the next one.